The Energy Information Administration released its weekly report on the status of petroleum inventories in the United States today.

Here are some highlights:

CRUDE INVENTORIES:Crude oil inventories increased by 3.5 million barrels to a total of 397.7 million barrels. At 397.7 million barrels, inventories are 9.1 million barrels above last year (2.3%) and are well above the average range for this time of year.

GASOLINE INVENTORIES:Gasoline inventories decreased by 0.3 million barrels to 210.0 million barrels. At 210.0 million barrels, inventories are down 7.8 million barrels, or 3.6% lower than one year ago. Here's how individual regions and their gasoline inventory fared last week: East Coast (-0.1mb); Midwest (+0.5mb); Gulf Coast (-0.4mb); Rockies (-0.2mb); and West Coast (-0.1mb). It is important to note which regions saw increases/decreases as this information likely drives prices up (in the case of falling inventories), or down (in the case of rising inventories).

DISTILLATE (diesel, heating oil) INVENTORIES:Distillate inventories increased by 1.2 million barrels to a total of 111.9 million barrels. At 111.9 million barrels, inventories are now down 2.8 million barrels, or 2.4% lower vs. a year ago.

IMPLIED DEMAND:Gasoline supplied to end users amounted to 8.4 million barrels per day, or 186,000 barrels per day lower than the previous week. So far in 2014, gasoline supplied is 0.6% higher versus 2013.

REFINERY OUTPUT/UTILIZATION:Refinery utilization was up by 2.2% to 91.0% vs. last week's numbers. Gasoline production decreased last week averaging over 8.9 million barrels per day while distillate fuel production increased last week, averaging 5.0 million barrels per day.

Utilization rates for the last week were as follows: East Coast: 84.6%, Midwest: 90.6%, Gulf Coast: 94.1%, Rocky Mountain: 83.6%, West Coast: 86.4%. These percentages show how much of a region's overall capacity were used to refine oil. It is important to note these percentages, because the lower the utilization percent, the lower output, which has a direct impact on local gasoline prices. If refiners in your region have low output, your more likely to see prices rise.

OVERALL SUPPLY:Total oil stocks in the United States are down by 14.9 million barrels (-1.4%) over last year and stand at 1.07 billion barrels (excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve).

IMPORTS/EXPORTS:The U.S. imported 7.7 million barrels of crude oil per day last week, down by 475,000 barrels vs. the previous week. Total motor gasoline imports last week averaged 532,000bpd. The U.S. also imported 258,000bpd of distillate fuels. However, during the same time frame, the U.S. exported 529,000bpd of gasoline and 1.2mbpd of distillates. In total, U.S. refineries exported 3.6 million barrels per day of oil and products.

Gasoline inventories were up 1.1 MB in the Midwest last week and are up another .5 MB this week and yet prices at the pump continue to climb. Yet, at the stations I watch, the price of diesel hasn't changed more than a penny or two in that whole time.